Discover Big Ben

This clocktower is to London what the Eiffel Tower is to Paris : It is the best-known symbol of London, even if it isn't the oldest. Erected in 1859 to the far side of Westminster palace, Big Ben was named after the architect Benjamin Hall who supervised the palace's reconstruction work after the fire of 1834. For nearly 150 years, Big Ben has given those in London the time with great precision (its error margin, people say, is by only two seconds) and its clock, which chimes at every hour, is broadcast by the radio and television during Christmas and on New Year's Eve.